The invention relates generally to trim components within a vehicle interior, and more specifically, to a system for illuminating a vehicle interior trim component.
A variety of decorative interior trim components may be employed throughout an interior of a vehicle. For example, certain instrument panels (e.g., instrument gauge cluster modules, driver information electronic sub-assemblies, etc.) may include decorative rings disposed about individual gauges, groups of gauges and/or the perimeter of the instrument panel. Other instrument panels may include a graphical display having a decorative trim component disposed about the border of the display. Furthermore, additional displays and/or gauges may be located within other areas of the vehicle interior, such as the center console and/or the headrest of a seat, for example. Such displays and/or gauges may also include a decorative trim component disposed about their perimeters.
Certain decorative trim components are used in coordination with various gauges or displays, such as a thin film transistor (TFT) display. For example, decorative trim components may be used to provide backlit graphics above and about a display area. In certain configurations, backlit graphics on an interior trim component may be used to display the numbers on a speedometer gauge, where the interior trim component is positioned about the electromechanical or digital speedometer needle. Unfortunately, such illuminated interior trim components may partially obstruct a view of adjacent displays or graphics. For example, certain illuminated interior trim components may extend 25 mm or more above a surface of the display due to the size of the light emitting components positioned behind the trim component. As a result, when the display is viewed at an angle, a portion of the display adjacent to the illuminated interior trim component may be blocked.
In addition, because displays such as TFT displays are generally very bright, it may be desirable for the backlit graphics to be equally as bright to match the luminous intensity of the display. Consequently, using the display itself as a light source may be undesirable because the display may lack the brightness required to sufficiently illuminate the graphics of the interior trim component. Furthermore, using the display as the light source for illuminating the interior trim component may result in uneven light distribution due to potential light blockage when the graphics assembly is disposed over and/or about the display. Accordingly, there is a need for a low profile illuminated interior trim component that provides sufficient light intensity for use with digital displays.